Shrinkage

Hi Koilies!

So, you've reached a new hair length milestone and want to show your
progress off to anyone who looks in your general direction, BUT your hair won’t
cooperate. It's in its shrunken state and looks like a TWA! These are the
glories of shrinkage. I've always found the word funny, because in my mind it
implies an irreversible catastrophe, but it’s a normal part of having
kinky/koili hair. I cherish shrinkage
because I consider it to be a signal of the health of my hair. The springier
and bouncier the better – it means that the strength, elasticity and moisture
levels are just right for my hair.

Source: Ariel on Pinterest

I also happen to be in the camp with incredible amounts of shrinkage.I’m not sure how to describe it other than to
say I can go from TWA to APL/BSL over the course of a blow dry. I happen to
love this property, it offers me a lot of versatility in terms of styling
options, and is a neat party trick. This
trick was in full effect recently when I went to a hair salon. A Parisian lady did my blowout and she was great! What was hilarious though
was watching her reaction at the extension in my length as she stretched it. She
played it cool for a while, but eventually exclaimed, “your airr – it ize so small wiz woterrr but it ize so long after zee brushh”.
Couldn’t help but chuckle, and she was gracious enough to take a pic:

The downside, in my case, is that extreme shrinkage comes with some serious
tangling and knotting. General knots, single strand knots, tangles – you name
it my hair can bring it! Resultantly, detangling is arguably the most important
part of my routine. I spend the most amount of time on detangling and
minimising tangles in my hair. You can read more on my wash day detangling
routine here
and on Wunmi’s here.
I am also a firm believer in the power
of a good trim, which is what I was doing in the salon.The combination of these things helps me cope
with the inevitable consequences of my shrinkage.

For those who would like to show more length then stretched
styles are the way to go. Twist outs, braid outs, bantu-knot outs, blow dries,
and yarn stretching (baby blocks done with wool) and a lot more are the way to go. For the
rest of us who don’t mind the shrinkage, I’ve found that keeping my hair
properly moisturised first with a liquid (in my case water) and a generous
amount of Koili butter works wonders.

Let us know about your shrinkage stories and your take on it in the comments below.